Assembling server for first time. please help !!!?

I am trying to assemble a server for first time. please let me know what exactly do i need for this and what are the different option do i have.

I am looking for server with following details

1) 10 sata hard drives of 250GB each
2) Another server with same specification (for 1st server exact backup) and want to network them with each other

please let me know (please bear with me if any question seems stupid !!! )
1) what kind of software i would need for this.
2) how can i do networking between these two servers
3) which server case would be appropriate ?
4) how much and what kind of ram memory would be sufficient ?
5) what other components do i need ?

please send me any useful links which describe how to assemble one ..

Regards and thanks in advance

Pal

KL Commuter’s answers:

First off you don’t want your data storage on the same machine as your actual server. You want to look into a SAN(storage area network). As far as the servers I would suggest getting a few blade servers that meet your hardware specifications. You don’t have to assemble them and they mount nicely into a rack. The brand is not as important as the hardware specs.

Then look into an expandable SAN something that starts with say 2Tb but can be added onto.

Once you have those things you need a rack to mount them on.

Software I would suggest Windows server 2008.

To network them together you want to use some kind of core switch setup, preferably with routable switches. This setup will also make networking in the other non-server machines in the network easier.

You will not need to buy cases if you get blade servers.

As far as hardware requirements you haven’t given enough details for that. I would need to know how much information the machines would be handling, number of other machines on the network, etc.

As far as other components you will need a firewall of some sort, I have had good experience with SonicWall in the past. Also you may want to look into wireless access points, if you go with a sonicwall firewall I suggest getting sonicwall access points.

Sandra asks…

240V Server fans speeding up?

I have a serverrack fan and it requires 240V to run it’s has a 10A fuse if I replace the fuse with a 13A fuse will the fans go faster? Also if I use the fans as a wind turbine will they produce 240V ?

KL Commuter’s answers:

No and no. And if you had to ask this do NOT mess with electricity you will kill yourself or someone else, or cause a serious fire.

Donna asks…

Can I use SATA hard disk drives on my DL380 rack server?

KL Commuter’s answers:

I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to. Is this an older generation of the DL380? Do you not have hot-swappable SATA drives? If your motherboard does not currently support SATA, you may have to add a PCI card.

James asks…

witch hardware is right for high load lamp server?

i need to build a server for a high load website, we think about 2 quard cores and about 8 gb of ram, whats your recommendations ?

I have IBM x3200 m3 i want ot upgrade my HDD from 500 gb to 2 tb can i also used my old HDD tray or change it?

i-m using x3200 m3 server and i want it to become a server for my cctv camera it only have 500gb HDD so i want to upgrade it from 500gb to 2tb i just want to ask if i need also to change the HDD tray
if im gonna extend my capacity and from 2tb to 8tb i need to buy same HDD tray for my new HDD?

KL Commuter’s answers:

The IBM x3200 M3 server is capable of supporting up to 8 TB of storage in the form of 4 x 2TB hard drives and should use the same mounting brackets that are included in the server. Be careful to save the screws that are used to mount the hard drives in the trays, as they are flush mount to fit properly inside the server rack. Using other hard drive screws may be too large to fit back into the slots. Also keep in mind that if you replace your 500gb hard drive, you will need to reinstall your operating system and drivers onto one of the hard drives.

Another point to consider when adding multiple hard drives into a CCTV solution, is to map specific cameras to different hard drives to even the work load across the drives. GeoVision software will allow you to do this and much more, and is available on www.apexcctv.com. ApexCCTV is a great source for anything CCTV related, and their products are backed by life time technical support.